By Ricardo Lezama Uber, the ride-hailing app, has had a long and tumultuous history in Mexico. After years of legal battles, the company has finally been granted permission to operate in the country’s tourist-friendly state of Quintana Roo.
Taxi protests and lobbies can sway decisions of this type. Throughout the nation, taxi drivers are also known to brutalize both Uber drivers and passengers.
The decision to allow Uber to operate in Quintana Roo was made by a federal court, the Third Tribunal, which argued that the state’s laws are unconstitutionally being applied to private enterprise. Quintana Roo’s laws can only be applied to public entities, it argued.
Uber has faced legal challenges in Mexico since it first launched in the country in 2013. Globally, the company has been accused of operating without proper permits and has been the subject of numerous lawsuits. When drivers have their vehicle impounded by local authorities, Uber will pay for the legal fees and resulting lot fees suggesting that it will pay to flaunt a jurisdictions laws. Additionally, the taxi protests has created massive amounts of traffic in Cancun earlier today: